American Chemical Society
Teaching Chemical Information:
Tips and Techniques
— August 1998 —
Patents
Why Teach?
- Important part of the literature of applied chemistry
- Major source of new technological information; often overlooked
- Particularly important for students heading for industrial careers
Teaching Points
- Patent is a legal document
Show a patent with obscure language — get students to guess what the invention is
e.g. Patent A Device to vertically oscillate participants - What is patentable?
Most chemical patents cover composition of matter or processes - Structure of a patent
- Compare sections of a journal article and a patent
- Claims are what is legally protected by the patent
- Examples usually contain the new chemical information
- Use a local company or faculty member
- Contrast between very detailed and very brief patents
- Contrast patents with many claims vs. only one or two
- How to obtain patents — full text data bases now available on the web
Teaching Materials
- Lecture on primary literature
- Patent Guides on the Web
- Patent Databases on the Web
- Patent Searching Aids and Techniques
- Commercial Patent Database Information
- Background Material
- Kawakami, Alice K. “Patents and Patent Searching” Issues in Science and Technology, Summer 1998.
- “How to Read a Patent”, John T. Maynard, ChemTech, v.8, no.2, Feb. 1978, p.91-95.
- Maynard, John T. and Peters, Howard, M. Understanding Chemical Patents 2nd ed. Washington, D.C., American Chemical Society, 1991.
- Bjork, C. Kenneth. Introduction to Patents.
Washington D.C., American Chemical Society, 1991.
2 sound cassettes and manual. - Wiggins, Gary. Chemical Information Sources, Chapter 6, p.101-113.